Ailing Milos Raonic ousted in straight sets by Feliciano Lopez in 3rd round

Milos Raonic continues to struggle with his form as he works his way back from foot surgery.

The world No. 10, who's also been dealing with a back injury, was beaten handily by No. 18 Feliciano Lopez, 6-2, 7-6 (4), 6-3 in the third round of the US Open on Friday.

Raonic looked visibly uncomfortable from the get-go, and thrice called for the trainer during the match, leaving the court for an extended medical timeout in the second set. Lopez also beat Raonic in the first round of the Cincinnati Masters just two weeks ago and took full advantage of the lumbering Canadian's severely hampered mobility, drop-shotting him to death and continually pressing forward behind his serve.

Even Raonic's serve, easily his biggest weapon - and one of the biggest weapons for any player, period - was in disarray. His first serve came in at an average of 119.5 mph, two full mph slower than Lopez's. Raonic landed 57 percent of his firsts and won 71 percent of those points, compared to his 2015 averages of 65 and 82 percent, respectively.

All of which led to his being broken three times, while failing to make so much as a dent in the return game. He hit just 16 winners off the ground. He won barely half the points he played at net. It's basically impossible for an offense-only player to win with those numbers.

It's the fourth loss in six matches for Raonic, who had surgery in May and hasn't strung together three consecutive wins since his semifinal showing at Indian Wells six months ago.

Lopez, meanwhile, is into the Round of 16 at the US Open for the first time since 2010. He'll await the winner of Friday's nightcap between countryman Rafael Nadal and Fabio Fognini.